School Dress Code
The Issues with School Dress Code When a girl gets told that her outfit is unsuitable to wear to school, her self esteem is dismantled from her. (Kate) In recent years, multiple girls have been punished because of the way they dress while attending school. Dress codes have taken a toll on how girls think about themselves as a person and the way they dress because of the fact that they might have to change due their outfit being “inappropriate.” Public schools should enforce dress codes but they should not be so strict so they do not embarrass children, body shame students, or push sexism toward one gender or another. When getting punished for a dress code violation, it tends to embarrass students when they have to change into something
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different. In the Washington Post there was a story that explained how “on her third day at a new school, Miranda Larkin had to go to class in red sweatpants and a hideous, oversized neon yellow T-shirt with “DRESS CODE VIOLATION” emblazoned across the chest and down the leg. The school has said this is to embarrass you,” Miranda told ABC. “It’s supposed to embarrass you so you don’t do it again,” and that worked. “She put on the outfit in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror and just broke down. She started sobbing and broke out in hives,” her mother, Dianna Larkin, told USA Today. (Sullivan) This is a very poor way to punish a child and it is outrageous. The school could have called the young girls parents so they could bring her a change of clothes instead of having her walk around all day in a hideous, embarrassing outfit on purpose. Being embarrassed is never a fun time for students because they break down and they can’t help it. Embarrassment is an awful thing that no school should put any student through. School dress codes body shame students when they are forced to change their attire.
At the age of 12, Pooja Patel got dress coded because of her choice of a jean skirt, leggings, and a scoop neck t-shirt. “I was in science class working on a group project. I felt a tap on my shoulder from my homeroom teacher, who had seen me earlier that day. She asked if she could speak with me outside and I obliged. She then told me something that has stuck with me: “Pooja, I know you like fashion, but I have heard some boys in your class talking about the way you are dressed. I think it would be best if you go change.” I was ashamed. I felt ashamed that people were talking about my clothing. I felt ashamed of my outfit choice. And most of all, I felt ashamed of my body. At the time I felt as if I had done something wrong, but in retrospect I was the one who had been wronged. Fervent dress-coding is not only sexist; it also reinforces an already-prevalent body shaming culture, kick-starting the phenomenon at an early age. I understand that we cannot expect to be able to wear crop tops and ripped jeans in the fourth grade, but school dress codes create an environment where women learn early on to feel ashamed of their bodies.” (Patel) The fact that this 12 year old girl got punished for dress code because some childish boys were talking about the way she dressed is disgraceful. It made her feel awful about her self even though she wore nothing that showed too much skin or anything along …show more content…
that line, yet she still was told to change because her choice of clothing was too “distracting” for her peers. When a twelve year old girl is told to cover up her body so she doesn’t draw attention to herself during school that makes her feel uncomfortable about her body at an early age, and she may end up thinking that something is wrong with her because of what she is required to do. Girls have many complications when it comes to following school dress code.
Greg Hardesty says that, “the girl raised her hand in English class. She had a question. What she got instead was a one-way trip to the main office – and an unexpected appointment with the administrator in charge of discipline. That’s because when the freshman at Trabuco Hills High School raised her hand, the motion exposed about 2 inches of her bare midriff. Boom! Dress code violation. Luckily for her, she got off with a warning. But throughout middle school and high school in Mission Viejo, this student repeatedly got busted for what she considered to be minor dress-code violations. Shorts too short. Shoulder straps on her top too thin. Skirt exposing too much skin above her knees. The violations cost her a couple of Saturdays for in-house school detention.” Now a-days with dress codes it seems that young ladies can not get a break from getting in trouble. With anything they wear they feel as if they could be punished. Finding the right attire to fit school dress code is a hassle and it is a lot of work to do. All of the clothes in stores usually consist of holes, short shorts, crop tops, tank tops, etc. and women have to attempt to find school appropriate clothes so they avoid getting into trouble. Unfortunately they still do, even if it is just their shirt coming up by accident when they are raising their
hand. Many claim that dress code regulations should be very strict and punish students harshly; however, strict dress codes contribute to less education time for those children and or young adults who get in trouble for violating the code. Josephina Thompson was heading to her first period class with a fellow classmate at Grissom High School in Huntsville when she was stopped by the schools security officer. "They were told they could not go to class at all until somebody came to school and brought them appropriate clothing,” claimed Thompson’s mother, Deanna Wolf. Thompson's friend's mother was able to bring the girls new clothing so they could go back to class. "If nobody had been available, she would have had to sit in that room all day and would not have been able to go to class," said Wolf. (Vollers) Strict dress codes take a ton of time out of a students day when the school makes them sit in the office until they can get a new change of clothes, therefore making them adverse. Waiting for a parent to bring a violator something new to wear takes valuable education time away from students and that will not help them in the long run because they are missing class for something so pointless. These girls just happened to be lucky enough that they were able to retrieve a change of clothes, while some children would have to wait all day before someone could bring them new articles of clothing, causing them to miss a whole day of various, important classes. Some believe that school dress codes do not push sexism; however, that statement is false because dress codes make sure girls do not show their body in any way because their male classmates will be sidetracked. Dress codes for male students tend to be more laid back, while their dressing regulations are made for them to not nurture gangs, racism, or any type of drug use. Girls on the other hand are taught that they cannot wear any type of clothing that is to provocative. They are not allowed to wear tank tops, crop tops, short shorts, or show their bra, even if it is just a strap, because they have the chance to distract their male peers. (Roshell) The reason that people are wrong when they say that dress codes do not push sexism is because girls are targeted unfairly when it comes to their clothing because they are forced to dress a certain way to insure that their peers will get a good education without being too absent-minded, while males are mainly watched for what their attire promotes. Public schools do need to enforce an appropriate dress code but they should be more merciful so they do not embarrass children in any way, body shame students no matter the age, or push sexism at all. Dress codes are very important to have but they need to be flexible when it comes to minor violations. A child cannot help it if they accidentally show some skin when trying to do something in class nor can they help it if some disrespectful peers are talking about the way they are dressed. Although it is completely understandable for a student to be punished if they are violating the rules on purpose, they still should not feel ashamed of their bodies, let alone be embarrassed which can cause their self-esteem to go down.
different. In the Washington Post there was a story that explained how “on her third day at a new school, Miranda Larkin had to go to class in red sweatpants and a hideous, oversized neon yellow T-shirt with “DRESS CODE VIOLATION” emblazoned across the chest and down the leg. The school has said this is to embarrass you,” Miranda told ABC. “It’s supposed to embarrass you so you don’t do it again,” and that worked. “She put on the outfit in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror and just broke down. She started sobbing and broke out in hives,” her mother, Dianna Larkin, told USA Today. (Sullivan) This is a very poor way to punish a child and it is outrageous. The school could have called the young girls parents so they could bring her a change of clothes instead of having her walk around all day in a hideous, embarrassing outfit on purpose. Being embarrassed is never a fun time for students because they break down and they can’t help it. Embarrassment is an awful thing that no school should put any student through. School dress codes body shame students when they are forced to change their attire.
At the age of 12, Pooja Patel got dress coded because of her choice of a jean skirt, leggings, and a scoop neck t-shirt. “I was in science class working on a group project. I felt a tap on my shoulder from my homeroom teacher, who had seen me earlier that day. She asked if she could speak with me outside and I obliged. She then told me something that has stuck with me: “Pooja, I know you like fashion, but I have heard some boys in your class talking about the way you are dressed. I think it would be best if you go change.” I was ashamed. I felt ashamed that people were talking about my clothing. I felt ashamed of my outfit choice. And most of all, I felt ashamed of my body. At the time I felt as if I had done something wrong, but in retrospect I was the one who had been wronged. Fervent dress-coding is not only sexist; it also reinforces an already-prevalent body shaming culture, kick-starting the phenomenon at an early age. I understand that we cannot expect to be able to wear crop tops and ripped jeans in the fourth grade, but school dress codes create an environment where women learn early on to feel ashamed of their bodies.” (Patel) The fact that this 12 year old girl got punished for dress code because some childish boys were talking about the way she dressed is disgraceful. It made her feel awful about her self even though she wore nothing that showed too much skin or anything along …show more content…
that line, yet she still was told to change because her choice of clothing was too “distracting” for her peers. When a twelve year old girl is told to cover up her body so she doesn’t draw attention to herself during school that makes her feel uncomfortable about her body at an early age, and she may end up thinking that something is wrong with her because of what she is required to do. Girls have many complications when it comes to following school dress code.
Greg Hardesty says that, “the girl raised her hand in English class. She had a question. What she got instead was a one-way trip to the main office – and an unexpected appointment with the administrator in charge of discipline. That’s because when the freshman at Trabuco Hills High School raised her hand, the motion exposed about 2 inches of her bare midriff. Boom! Dress code violation. Luckily for her, she got off with a warning. But throughout middle school and high school in Mission Viejo, this student repeatedly got busted for what she considered to be minor dress-code violations. Shorts too short. Shoulder straps on her top too thin. Skirt exposing too much skin above her knees. The violations cost her a couple of Saturdays for in-house school detention.” Now a-days with dress codes it seems that young ladies can not get a break from getting in trouble. With anything they wear they feel as if they could be punished. Finding the right attire to fit school dress code is a hassle and it is a lot of work to do. All of the clothes in stores usually consist of holes, short shorts, crop tops, tank tops, etc. and women have to attempt to find school appropriate clothes so they avoid getting into trouble. Unfortunately they still do, even if it is just their shirt coming up by accident when they are raising their
hand. Many claim that dress code regulations should be very strict and punish students harshly; however, strict dress codes contribute to less education time for those children and or young adults who get in trouble for violating the code. Josephina Thompson was heading to her first period class with a fellow classmate at Grissom High School in Huntsville when she was stopped by the schools security officer. "They were told they could not go to class at all until somebody came to school and brought them appropriate clothing,” claimed Thompson’s mother, Deanna Wolf. Thompson's friend's mother was able to bring the girls new clothing so they could go back to class. "If nobody had been available, she would have had to sit in that room all day and would not have been able to go to class," said Wolf. (Vollers) Strict dress codes take a ton of time out of a students day when the school makes them sit in the office until they can get a new change of clothes, therefore making them adverse. Waiting for a parent to bring a violator something new to wear takes valuable education time away from students and that will not help them in the long run because they are missing class for something so pointless. These girls just happened to be lucky enough that they were able to retrieve a change of clothes, while some children would have to wait all day before someone could bring them new articles of clothing, causing them to miss a whole day of various, important classes. Some believe that school dress codes do not push sexism; however, that statement is false because dress codes make sure girls do not show their body in any way because their male classmates will be sidetracked. Dress codes for male students tend to be more laid back, while their dressing regulations are made for them to not nurture gangs, racism, or any type of drug use. Girls on the other hand are taught that they cannot wear any type of clothing that is to provocative. They are not allowed to wear tank tops, crop tops, short shorts, or show their bra, even if it is just a strap, because they have the chance to distract their male peers. (Roshell) The reason that people are wrong when they say that dress codes do not push sexism is because girls are targeted unfairly when it comes to their clothing because they are forced to dress a certain way to insure that their peers will get a good education without being too absent-minded, while males are mainly watched for what their attire promotes. Public schools do need to enforce an appropriate dress code but they should be more merciful so they do not embarrass children in any way, body shame students no matter the age, or push sexism at all. Dress codes are very important to have but they need to be flexible when it comes to minor violations. A child cannot help it if they accidentally show some skin when trying to do something in class nor can they help it if some disrespectful peers are talking about the way they are dressed. Although it is completely understandable for a student to be punished if they are violating the rules on purpose, they still should not feel ashamed of their bodies, let alone be embarrassed which can cause their self-esteem to go down.